Community Spotlight: Dee & Connie Kippen

Connie Kippen can’t say enough about her family. “My kids and grandkids-that is the number one thing in my life,” Connie said and then minutes later on another topic she continued, “My kids bring me the most excitement and most joy.” Any topic seemed to relate back to her children and her love for them.
Together with her husband Dee, they have three children, who also reside in Morgan: Brent, Angie and Evan. Angie is married to Dave Rich II and has three children; Capri, David and Chesnee.
The Morgan couple loves to travel and they have been around the world. Last year they explored England and saw some amazing sights. Watching the Olympics take place in London lets them relive their trip and all of the places they visited. This isn’t the first or last trip to an Olympic site before the games.
The Kippens toured China the year before the torch was passed and the Beijing games began. Keeping with the Summer Olympics theme, they have a cruise planned for February that will take them from California, down to Panama and Chili, and will conclude in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; the site of the 2016 Summer Olympics. They are excited for the one month, one week cruise. As the Olympic rings are displayed and the world is brought together, the Kippens remember their tours around the globe.
Dee and Connie have also traveled through the United States, especially enjoying LDS Church History sites. They have made multiple trips to the Caribbean and have returned to Jamaica several times. They have toured Israel. In one three-week cruise they visited seven islands in Hawaii. They have also cruised Alaska. They take their kids and grandkids to Bear Lake and Cherry Hills annually. It is obvious they love the adventure and beautiful places the world has to offer.
Dee loves relaxation trips, but he also loves trips where he can hunt and fish. He has hunted and fished in Canada, fished in Mexico and hunted in Alaska. Whether it is near or far he enjoys hunting, which as been a lifetime hobby. He has hunted mountain lions, cougars, bears, elk, deer, badgers, fox, coyotes, and mink. He enjoys hunting on the east side of Morgan on Durst Mountain. He has enjoyed hunting there his whole life. Dee now takes his two sons with him.
Connie is planning to make a bear claw quilt for Dee, a tradition from earlier times when women would stay home and make this type of quilt while the men hunted for weeks. Connie is a talented quilter and estimates she has made around 100 quilts in her life.
She had three quilts on display at the Morgan County Fair this year. She knew many people appreciated the intricate beauty of her quilts from the compliments she received. But she was delightfully surprised with a visit from the fair board the Monday after the fair. They brought her a People’s Choice Ribbon that had not been presented or displayed but had been voted by the people to receive the award. This is the second People’s Choice Awards she has received from quilts she has entered in the fair.
One of her favorite quilts she has ever made was a quilt for her daughter when she was married. The design called for 12 inch blocks, but each block was made out of 66 different pieces sewn together.
The couple owns a home in St. George where they like to go to relax, especially in cold weather. While Dee enjoys kicking back and watching TV or going to the movies together, Connie often fills her days with sewing projects and quilting.
While Dee enjoys time to relax, he knows how to work hard. He has worked on a ranch all of his life. For most of his life he worked with his three brothers. Now the work is left for him to do alone. At 74 he continues to do the farming including irrigating, hauling hay and all other chores involved. He receives help from Evan and Brent when time permits.
Dee and his brothers grew up raising sheep and would spend their winters in Nevada caring for them. Dee and Connie were married December 22, 1978, and immediately moved into a sheep camp. They lived there until spring. There was no plumbing, electricity or running water. Dee was use to this life; however, Connie laughs that it was a rude awakening. Every winter Dee would go back after the deer hunt and stay until Easter, taking care of their 5,000 sheep.
All of those years gave Dee the opportunity to perfect his cooking and his kids love to visit every Sunday for one of his home cooked meals. He is especially good at cooking meat.